


as the osprey to the fish

by blackkat



Series: hawks 'verse [8]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friendship, Humor, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:35:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25260244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackkat/pseuds/blackkat
Summary: “Nico,” Jon says in greeting. “Tae. The path’s over here.”“Path,” a man says, dubious. “Yes, I see the only potentially passable section of an otherwise sheer rock face, suitable only for mountain goats and those raised by An’ya Kuro. Howdelightful.”
Relationships: Jon Antilles/CT-7567 | Rex, Nico Diath/Dooku (Star Wars), Tae Diath/Doom (Star Wars)
Series: hawks 'verse [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1825195
Comments: 18
Kudos: 524





	as the osprey to the fish

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt: nico has vibes that he’d be dooku’s ex-husband, and he sometimes drops by the nature reserve to say hi, maybe introduce his nephew, and meet rex.

“You're sure about this?” Jon asks carefully. “It’s going to be a little boring.”

“Oh no,” Rex says, perfectly dry. “I might have to sit around in the sunshine and watch my boyfriend work. I might even fall _asleep_ here in the grass. It’s awful.”

Jon snorts, but there’s a small smile pulling at his mouth, and he reaches out to tug Rex's cap down over his eyes. “You're just trying to escape Jango,” he says.

“That too,” Rex admits shamelessly, pushing his hat back up so he can see Jon. “He’s a pain in the ass.”

Two days ago, Jon might have protested. After having Jango barge in on them just as Rex got Jon in his lap and the button of his jeans undone for the first time, though, Jon is noticeably silent, if ruefully so. When Rex raises a brow at him, he shrugs a little guiltily, and offers, “He was talking about going out tonight?”

Rex groans. “I'm too old to be planning sex with my boyfriend around my _father_.”

Jon goes faintly red. It’s still cute. He’s smiling, too, as he leans down over Rex, one hand braced beside his head. His eyes are a shade lighter than the spring sky, and his hair is caught back in a neat tail that makes the angles of his face starkly obvious. Rex _likes_ looking at him, and he smirks as Jon dips down, kissing him gently.

“I'm distracting you from your work,” he says as they pull apart, but it’s not like he’s trying to stop; he gets a hand around Jon's hip, thinks about rolling him over in the grass here and stripping him slowly, exploring, taking his time. It’s a good image.

“You are,” Jon agrees readily, but he kisses Rex again, hums softly when Rex drags his fingers through his hair and tugs the band free so he can tangle it around his hands. There's no objection forthcoming, and he slides over Rex, settles above him as they kiss—

Long and low and carrying, a whistle wavers across the valley, rising and falling in a pattern. Jon immediately lifts his head, even as Rex makes a sound of protest, and his eyes widen.

“Nico,” he says, startled.

Rex blinks at him. “You know that whistle?” he asks, not sure if he’s amused or bewildered.

Jon looks vaguely sheepish. “Nico knows I forget my phone sometimes,” he says, which Rex supposes is a very generous way of putting _I've destroyed three phones in the two months you’ve known me and clearly this is not a break in the pattern_. “He stopped bothering to call me.”

Rex hums, mildly judgmental, and Jon huffs, pinching him lightly in the side as he slides off of him. With a sigh, Rex resigns himself to not getting any sex with his boyfriend, even in the middle of the wilderness, and sits up, just as Jon tips his head and whistles back. There's a pause, several minutes of silence, and then it comes again, this time from below them. Unconcerned by the sheer drop at the edge of the cliff, Jon leans over it, then waves.

“Nico,” he says. “Tae. The path’s over here.”

Rex raises a brow, because that name at least is familiar, and uncommon enough that he’s fairly certain he knows the owner. He can't figure out what Doom’s brand new boyfriend is doing all the way out here, though, especially in the presence of someone Jon knows.

“ _Path_ ,” a man says, dubious. “Yes, I see the only potentially passable section of an otherwise sheer rock face, suitable only for mountain goats and those raised by An’ya Kuro. How _delightful_.”

Jon rolls his eyes, but leans down to offer a hand. “You're worse than An’ya about hiking,” he says, and there’s an indignant sound half a second before Jon pulls an older man with an impressive mustache and greying hair up over the edge.

“I would hope so,” the man says archly, taking a step away from the cliff. He catches sight of Rex, just coming to his feet, and pauses in surprise, brows rising.

“Rex!” Tae says as Jon helps him up the last few feet. “I didn’t know you knew Jon.”

“I didn’t know _you_ knew him,” Rex says, bemused. “Hi, Tae.”

“Another Fett,” the man says keenly, eyeing Rex. “Jaster must be overwhelmed, having so many grandsons. But at least none of you take after him.”

“Nico,” Jon says, reproving, and Nico huffs and rolls his eyes.

“Yes, yes,” he mutters, waving a hand. “Nico Diath, at your service.”

“Rex,” he returns, and—this has to be the man Aayla was talking about, the professor returning from sabbatical. “You teach at the university?”

“Biodiversity,” Nico confirms. “Jon, Mace told me you were staying in town for the next few months. If Fay finds out you're living in a tent again, I refuse to save you.”

“Fay is back?” Jon asks, and there’s an undertone of something like joy to his voice that makes Rex glance at him in surprise. He hasn’t seen Jon interact with many people, and those he _does_ interact with tend to be like Obi-Wan, always making the first move or dragging Jon somewhere with equal amounts of badgering and steamrolling. But—this is different, and something in Rex's chest turns over, warm, to see the way Jon steps towards Nico, reaches out.

Nico reaches back, gripping Jon's arm with a small smile. “She is,” he says. “Knol as well. We were planning a night of celebration before we all officially make ourselves known at the university, and your presence is required. Unless you're willing to endure Knol hunting you down herself, and heaven knows no one deserves that.”

“I’ll be there,” Jon says quietly, and Nico snorts and steps forward, wrapping his arms around him. Instead of twitching away, Jon hugs him back for a long moment, and then says, muffled, “I'm glad you're back, Nico.”

“Yes, well, I can't stay away too long or Dooku gets complacent,” Nico says, a spark of something wicked in his otherwise dignified expression. “I wouldn’t want him to think I've _forgotten_ how to make his life miserable.”

“You're the one who married him,” Jon points out. “Four times.”

“Yes, but I also _divorced_ him four times—”

“Twice,” Tae corrects, grinning, and sinks down by Rex's feet, shrugging his backpack off. “He divorced _you_ the other times, Uncle.”

“Only because he beat me to the paperwork,” Nico says with a sniff. “And I'm _thoroughly_ done with that man now, you can be sure.”

“That’s what he said the last three times,” Tae tells Rex, and Rex muffles his laughter, settling next to him.

“How’s the move going?” he asks. “Doom’s never heard of organization in his _life_ , so I don’t envy you.”

Tae grins. “It’s good,” he says. “The new place is twice the size of both our old apartments combined. There's a yard, too. I think it will be great.”

“Good. Because next time Jango's in town, he’s your problem,” Rex says, and Tae, who hasn’t yet experienced the full force of Jango Fett crashing into his life and relationship, just laughs at the very serious threat that Rex means wholeheartedly.

“He’s not that bad,” Jon says quietly, settling beside Rex, and Rex snorts and reaches out, hooking an arm around his waist and dragging him close, until their legs are tangled and he can bury his face in Jon's shoulder.

“He’s _exactly_ that bad,” he protests, and Jon snorts, curling a hand over his head in sympathy.

When Rex opens his eyes, Nico is watching them, a thoughtful expression on his face. Instead of commenting, though, he waves a hand at Tae, grabs the bag Tae passes him, and says, “We brought tequila. And food, I suppose.”

“It’s barely lunchtime,” Jon says, but it’s resigned more than anything. “Knol is going to laugh at you if you fall off the side of the mountain. Again.”

“Knol can mind her own business,” Nico says with dignity. “And I require tequila if I'm going to have to deal with Dooku when I go home.”

“I can't believe you're still neighbors,” Jon says, mildly despairing. “You could have moved, and then you wouldn’t have to deal with him.”

“And surrender? _Ha_. It’s my house and I refuse to be forced out of it.” Nico pulls a bottle of very good tequila from the depths of his pack, and when Tae gives him a look, he sighs through his nose and pulls out a bag full of sandwiches as well.

Jon gives Rex an apologetic look, leaning into him. “Sorry for the interruption,” he murmurs. “Again.”

Rex chuckles. “We’ll survive,” he says, and laces their fingers together on the grass.


End file.
